Voting-machine



L. 1. TIMPANY.

VOTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY! 1 917.

Patented Jan. 20, 19 20.

3 SHEETS-SHEET v 'INVENTQRS Lewz'sJ. lzi'm aamy WITNESSES I I ATTORNEY-L. J. TIMPANY.

VOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1917.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR L e was mmpany BY ATTORNEY L. J. TIMPANY.

VOTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 1. 1917.

ATTOR NEY.

LEWIS JOHN TIMPANY, 0F TACO TACO, CUBA.

VOTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Application filed May 1, 1917. Serial No. 165,751.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Lnwrs JOHN TIM- mnr, a citizen of Cuba, residing atTaco Taco, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, have invented cer ain new and usefulImprovements in Votmg-lvlachines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to voting machines, and the main object thereofis to provide a machine of this character so constructed as to preventfraud on the part of both the voter and the oiiicer in charge.

Another object is to provide simple and efficient means for registeringeach vote polled and while the register is entirely secret, it is underthe control of the ofiicer in charge of the polling booth to see thatonly one vote is recorded.

Another object is to provide improved means for permitting inspection bythe voter of the name of the candidate voted.

Another object is to provide improved mechanism actuated by the ofiicerin charge for feeding the strip of paper on which is to be stamped thename of the candidate voted a distance suiiicient to permit the stampingof a single vote thereon and which mechanism, when the paper has been sofed will be rendered inoperative and the paper cannot be moved furtheruntil after the voter has actuated the stamping mechanism.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

in the accompanying drawings z- Figure 1 represents a perspective viewof the machine constituting this invention,

Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section thereof,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section,

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line i-i of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the upper end of the plunger oroperating or voting key,

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the trip member, and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the counter or registeringdevice.

In the embodiment illustrated, the machine comprising this invention isshown in Fig. l housed within a suitable casing 1 through which projectsa voting key 80 for operation of one unit by the voter, a crank 3 havinga handle under the control of the oflicer in charge and a push button100 for operation by the voter and which latter is designed to permitinspection of the name of the candidate voted as will be hereinaftermore fully described. This casing 1 is also provided with a sightopening 7 5 covered by a glass or other suitable transparent materialand through which the voter may look to see the name of the candidatewhich he has voted.

This machine is designed to contain with in the casing 1 a plurality ofunits according to the number of candidates to be voted for, but as allof them are exactly alike, one only is shown herein and described, andas each unit for each candidate is entirely separate, there can be noconfusion in recording the votes for each candidate.

Extending through the casing 1 is a shaft 2 designed for use inconnection with all the units and having an operating crank 3 on the endwhich projects through the end of the casing and which is provided witha hand grip 50 and is designed to be disposed in position for operationby the officer in charge, said oflicer being preferably out of sight ofthe voter and for this purpose, any suitable screen may be erected forconcealing him, but it is not deemed necessary to illustrate it hereinas it forms no part of the invention.

This shaft 2 has two worms 4 and 5 arranged near opposite ends thereofand which are fixed to rotate with the shaft. A gear 6 is looselymounted on the shaft and is provided on one face thereof with a clutch 7designed to cooperate with a similar clutch 8 carried by an eccentric 9which is keyed to slide on shaft .2 and to rotate therewith. Thiseccentric 9 is carried by a plate 10 against which a coiled spring 11 isdesigned to engage and to exert its tension for forcing said cam oreccentric 9 inwardly toward gear 6 so that the clutch members 7 and 8 ofsaid cam and gear are normally in meshing engagement to provide for therotation of gear 6 on the turning of shaft 2 for a purpose hereinafterto be described. 7

A. trip member 12 is shown in detail in Fig. 6 in the form of asubstantially'rectangular plate having a longitudinally extending slot13 opening through one end thereof and which is provided in its otherend with a closed slot 1 1 extending longitudinally thereof. The lowerend of said trip plate 1 having slot 13 therein is designed to straddleshaft 2 and the cam 9 on said shaft is designed to enter said slot sothat on the turning of the shaft this cam will operate to raise saidtrip plate and cause a beveled shoulder thereof to pass between theclutch members 7 and 8 and force them away from each other therebyrendering gear loose on shaft 2 to prevent its actuation by the turningof said shaft while these parts are in this position, said trip beingheld in raised position by its frictional cngagemmiit with the clutchmembers, the complete rotation of shaft 2 operating to lower cam 9 outof engagen'ient with trip 12. It will thus be seen that after said trip12 has been. so raised, the shaft 2 may be rotated indefinitely withoutaffecting gear 6 or trip .12. A roller 16 having a rubber coated surfacesimilar to the platen of a typewriter is mounted to revolve on a shaft17 extending longitudinally of the casing and which has fixed thereto agear 18 which meshes with gear 6 by means of which it is actuated forrotating the roller 16.

Two paper carrying rolls 19 and 20 are suspended in U-shaped frames 21and 22 mounted on shafts 23 and 2a and which are held in frictionalengagement with the periphery of roller 16 at diametrically oppositesides thereof by means of a coil spring 25 so that the turning of roller16 will operate to turn these rolls 19 and 20 in the same direction tocause the strip of paper 26 carried by one of the rolls 19 or 20 to passover the roller 16 and be wound up on the opposed roll, the roller 16operating as a backing or platen for the paper and over which is passedthe ribbon 27 carried by rollers 28 mounted at opposite ends of thecasing on shafts 29 and which operates similarly to the ribbon employedin typewriters, winding off one roll on to the other. The rolls carryingthese ribbons have gears 30 which mesh with cooperating gears 31 carriedby transversely disposed shafts 32 and on which are also fixed wormgears 33. These worm gears 38 mesh with the worms and 5 on shaft 2 andare operated by the turning of said shaft and through gears 31 operateto impart motion to the ribbon roll controlling gears 30.

Mounted to reciprocate vertically in the casing 1 above roller 16 isstamp or die carrying plunger 3%, the lower end of which has a headcarrying the die having the name of the candidate set up in type on thelower face thereof and which is designed to be printed on the paperstrip 26 through the ribbon 27.

This plunger St has a coiled spring 86 mounted thereon secured at oneend to a shoulder 37 and at its other end to the lower face of the topof the casing 1 and exerts its tension to return the plunger to raisedinoperative position after it has been actuated.

This plunger or operating key 3% has a shank 38 which extends throughthe top of the casing 1 into a sleeve 89 having a disk like head 4-0 foruse in depressing the plunger. A coiled spring 41 is mounted in thissleeve between the inner face of the head 40 and the upper end of theshank 38 and exerts its pressure to force said shank normally downward.A pair of diverging spring pressed dogs 42 are pivotally mounted inshank 38 with their free ends projecting beyond the lower edge of thesleeve and which are spread apart by a coiled expansion spring 13 andare designed to engage the outer face of the top of the casing l to holdthe plungernormally in raised position as is shown clearly in Fig. 5. Itwill thus be seen that when the head 40 of the plunger is depresed,springs 11 and a3 will be compressed and thereby release dogs 42permitting the die to drop quickly by gravity and the pressure on head.and strike the paper strip above the roller 16 and force it against saidroller, thereby printing through the ribbon 27 the name contained on thelower face of said die. The expansion of spring 11 and the contractionof spring 36 operate to return the plunger.

A bar l l is connected at one end with the plunger 3 1 and at its otherend with shaft 23 and is provided with a laterally extending pin or stud45 which passes through the slot 14; in the upper ends of the trip plate12. By so connecting the plunger with the trip plate 12 it will beunderstood that the lowering or dropping of the die when the plunger keyis operated will cause trip plate 12 to be forced downwardly by means ofthe engagement of the stud 45 with the lower wall of slot 1st andthereby move the shoulder 15 out of engagement with the clutch members 7and 8 and permit said members to move into operative engagement witheach other, thereby again connecting shaft 2 with gear (5 so that saidgear may be rotated with the turning of the shaft.

A counter 46 which may be of any suitable or desired com-struction, thedetails of which form no part of this invention and consequently are notherein shown, is connected to be actuated by a rod 4:? carried by thetrip plate 12 so that each lowering of trip plate 12 will operate toregister 0nd vote on the counter.

The trip plate 12 also operates a linkage 48 which is composed of twopivotally connected sections 49 and 19, the section -19 being connectedat its free end with the trip plate 12 and the vfree end of section 4:9connected with the shaft 2%. This shaft 24 through a crank 51 operatesto ring a bell on each lowering of the trip plate 12 and which isaccomplished by means of the linkage 48 just described, said linkageoperating to turn the shaft 2 1 for ringing the bell and thus give awarning that a vote has been polled and thereby prevent all possibilityof a repeat, for if the bell should ring twice while the same voter isin the boot-h, it would indicate to those in charge that fraud was beingpractised and the voter operating more than one key 40 as the bell canring only on the depression of the individual keys, a single time.

It will thus be seen that the plate 12 controls the actuation of boththe register 46 and the bell 52, it being connected by link or bars?with the re ister or counter $6 and by linkage 4C8 witi the bellactuating shaft 24, and when the linkage as has been actuated to ringthe bell, it will remain inoperative until plate 12 is again raised.Hence a voter may depress the plunger head 40 of a key 80 any number oftimes and yet only one record will be made on the plate 27, one countregistered by counter 46, and bell 52 sounded once only, all of whichare incident to the lowering of plate 12, which plate, after being oncelowered, will remain in lowered position until raised'by the officer incharge of crank 50. As hereinbefore stated the lowering of plate 12 inaddition to actuating counter 46 and bell 52, removes cam on shoulder 15from between clutch members 7 and 8 and permits said members to engageunder the action of spring 11, thus connecting shaft 2 with gear 6 sothat when said shaft is turned, it will rotate said gear 6 and themechanism connected therewith as above described to set the unit readyfor another vote.

The push button 100 is connected with a bar 53 which has a lateral arm54engaged with a bar 54: which has inturned ends connected with theribbon carrying rollers 28. Between the opposed ends of said rollers andstops shown at 55 on shafts 29 are arranged coiled springs as 56 so thatthe inward movement of the button 100' operates to force said rollers 28longitudinally on the shafts 29 a sufficient distance to cause theribbon to uncover the paper and expose the 1 name of the candidateprinted by the die so that the voter by looking through the sightopening 7 5 may ascertainwhether the name which he desired to vote hasbeen properly printed.

It will be understoodthat when the push button 100 is released thesprings 56 will operate'to return therollers 28 to normal position andthe button into projected position ready again for actuation.

In the operation of this machine, the veting mechanism or all the unitsany desired number of which may be provided accord ing to the number ofcandidates being incased in casing 1 and thereby rendered inaccessibleto either the voter or the officer in charge, the casing is placed on asuitable support with the crank 3 and its handle positioned forconvenient actuation by the officer in charge while the push button 100and the lunger head 4E0 are disposed for convenient operation by thevoter, it being understood that before the'casing 1 is closed againstaccess to the voter or to others, that the strip of paper 26 has firstbeen stamped with the oificial seal preferably at a point directlybeneath the die 35 so that when the oflicer in charge gives one rotationto the crank 3, the paper bearing the oflicial seal will be moved fromunder the die and the machine be set ready for operation by the voter,

The voter entering the booth selects the candidate he desires to votefor then depresses the key 80 of the unit assigned to 44 which has thepin 45 projecting through the slot in the upper end of the trip plate 12and thereby depresses the trip plate causing the rod 47 connectedtherewith to actuate the counter to register a single vote and at thesame time moves the shoulder 15 from bet-ween the clutch members 7 andS'thereby connecting up shaft 2 with gear ,6. It will thus be seen thatno matter how many times the voter may depress the plunger 3st, it willprint in one place only on the paper as he has no means for obtainingaccess to the interior of the casing or for moving the paper strip 26from under the plunger to enable him to register another vote. "If hede- 1 sires to make sure that the name which he intended to vote hasbeen properly printech all that is necessary is for him to push inwardthe push button 100 and thereby shift the ribbon rollers 28 to movetheribbon from over the paper strip 26 disclosing to view theiname whichwas stamped by the descent of the die 35 and if he finds thatthis namehas been printed he may then leave thebooth with the assurance that hisvote has been properly recorded and counted. After the voter has sovoted, the ofiicer in charge may then turn the crank 3 which causes theworms 4 and 5 to turn with shaft 2 and also turns the gear 6 whereby theroller 16 is rotated carrying with it the paper from roll 20 toward andwinding it up on roll 19 and thereby exposing a new space to receive thenext vote. Simultaneously with this turning of gear 6 the cam 9 is alsorotated and thereby lifts trip plate 12 causing the shoulder 15 thereofto pass between and separate the clutch members 7 and 8 and thus renderthe shaft 9. inoperative for again turning the paper strip until afterthe registering key has been again depressed, the Worms operating toturn the ribbon only.

It will thus be seen that by so constructing and positioning theseparts, the voter can register and record only once on each unit, and theoflicer in charge can turn the shaft 2 only a single rotation to shiftthe paper 26 for a new vote, and after the paper has been so shifted theturning of shaft 2 will not in any way affect the paper ing until thekey of said unit has been again depressed.

While one unit only of the machine embodying this invention, is shown,it is to be understood that the shaft 2 carrying the various parts maybe made as long as necessary to accommodate any desired number of unitswhich are arranged side by side and one ribbon 27 used in the printingfor all of them. It will also be understood that the turning of crank 3will affect only those units the voting keys of which have beendepressed and does not alter in any way those Which have not beenactuated.

When the voting is over, the top of the casing 1 is removed by theperson having the proper authority and the oflicial seal is stamped onthe top of each paper roll under the die and the counters may then beexam ined and will disclose at a glance the number of, votes whichhavebeen cast for each candidate and the correct returns may be known ina few minutes. The rolls of paper containing the votes printed thereonmay then be removed from the casing and counted to see if they agreewith those registered by the counters. It is thus seen that by havingthese names printed one roll or continuous strip of paper, no names canbe added or removed without discovery.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method ofoperation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthe invention appertains (and while I have described the principle ofoperation of the inventiontogether with the device which I now, considerto be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood thatthe device shownis merely illustrative and that such changes may made asare within the scope of the claimed invention.

I claim zev I p 1. A voting machine, including an impression devicehaving an actuating key, an impression receiving element,-mechanism forfeeding said element under said impression device, means for renderingsaid feeding means inoperative after said receiving element has been feda predetermined distance, and means connected with said impressiondevice and operable by the actuation of said device to throw saidfeeding means into op-.

erative position. v

2. A voting machine, including an impression device having an actuatingkey, an impression receiving element, mechanism for feeding said elementunder said impression device, means whereby said feeding means isrendered inoperative after said element has been fed a predetermineddistance, and means operable by the actuation of said impression devicefor placing said feeding means again into operative condition.

3. In a voting machine, inclosed mechanism comprising a platen rollerrevolubly mounted therein, a print receiving strip mounted to move oversaid roller, a plunger actuated die for printing on said strip, a rotaryshaft, a trip member vertically mov able by said shaft and meansoperable by said shaft to move said strip a predeter mined distance andto simultaneously disengage said shaft from said means.

4. In a voting machine, mechanism for producing an impression includinga pair of spaced rolls for respectively receiving and distributing astrip of paper, a revoluble impression roller mounted between said rollsand contacting with the peripheries thereof whereby the turning of saidroller rotates said rolls in the same direction to wind said strip fromone roll, to the other and over said roller, a ribbon movable over saidstrip at a point abovesaid roller, an impression producing membermounted to reciprocate above said roller and operable by a voter toproduce an impression on said strip above said roller, and means forautomatically returning said impression member after actuation. V

5. In a voting machine, mechanism for producing an impression includinga pair of spaced rolls for respectively receiving and distributing astrip of paper, a revoluble impression roller mounted between said rollsand contacting with the peripheries thereof whereby the turning of saidroller rotates said rolls in the same direction to wind said strip fromone roll to the other and over said roller, a ribbon movable over saidstrip at a point above said roller, an impression producing membermounted to reciprocate above said roller and operable by a voter toproduce an impression on said strip above said roller, means forautomatically returning said impression member after actuation, andmeans actuated by said impression producing member for recording theimpression, and means for moving said strip positioned for actuation onthe impression producing stroke of said member.

6. In a voting machine, mechanism for producing an impression includinga pair of spaced rolls for respectively receiving and distributing astrip of paper, a revoluble impression roller mounted between said rollsand contacting with the peripheries thereof whereby the turning of saidroller rotates said rolls in the' same direction to wind said strip fromone roll to the other and over said roller, a shaft to which said rolleris fixed, a gear carried by said roller, another shaft arranged parallelwith said roller carried shaft, a gear loose on said parallel shaftmeshing with said roller carried gear and carrying a clutch member, acam mounted to rotate with said shaft slidable thereon, a clutch memberfor cooperation with the clutch on said gear whereby the gear is fixedto turn with the shaft, a clutch shifter engaged with said cam, and aconnection between said shifter and impression producing means wherebythe clutch members are separated by the turning of said shaft andconnected by the lowering of said impression producing means.

7. In a voting machine, a reciprocatory stamping die, movable meansarranged in the path of said die to receive an impression therefrom,intermesl'iing gears for actuating said movable impression receivingmeans, a shaft supporting and extending loosely through one of saidgears, a clutch member carried by said gear, a cam mounted to turn withsaid shaft and to slide thereon, a clutch carried by said cam forengagement with the gear carried clutch, a trip member mounted to movevertically and bifurcated to straddle said shaft and having a recess toreceive said cam and a shoulder to enter between and separate saidclutch members on the movement of said trip member in one direction,means for turning said shaft whereby said cam is turned to move saidtrip member into clutch releasing position, a connection between saidtrip member and stamping die for moving the trip member into clutchreleasing position on the actuation of said die.

8. In a voting machine, a reciprocatory stamping die, movable meansarranged in the path of said die to receive an impression therefrom,intermeshing gears for ac tuating said movable impression receiving.means, a shaft supporting and extending loosely through one of saidgears, a clutch member carried by said gear, a cam mounted to turn withsaid shaft and to slide thereon, a clutch carried by said cam forengagement with the gear carried clutch, a trip member mounted to movevertically and bifurcated to straddle said shaft and having a recess toreceive said cam and a shoulder to enter between and separate saidclutch members on the movement of said trip member in one direction,means for turning said shaft whereby said cam is turned to movesaid tripmember into clutch releasing position, a spring retracted plun ger foractuating said die, an arm carried by said plunger and having a slidingconnection with said trip, stops for limiting the movement of saidsliding connection to provide for the movement of said trip into clutchreleasing position on the first downward movement of the plunger.

9. In a voting machine, a reciprocatory stamping die, movable meansarranged in the path of said die to receive an impression therefrom,intermeshing gears for ac tuating said movable impression receivingmeans, a shaft supporting and extend ing loosely through one of saidgears, a clutch member carried by said gear, a cam mounted to turn withsaid shaft and to slide thereon, a clutch carried by said cam forengagement with the gear carried clutch, a trip member mounted to movevertically and bifurcated to straddle said shaft and having a recess toreceive said cam and a shoulder to enter between and separate saidclutch members .on the movement of said trip member in one direction,means for turning said shaft whereby said cam is turned to move saidtrip member into clutch releasing position, a spring retracted plungerfor actuating said die, an arm carried by said plunger and having asliding connection with said trip to provide for the movement of saidtrip into clutch releasing position on the first downward movement ofthe plunger, and to permit the plunger to reciprocate without affectingsaid trip after it has been so actuated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS JOHN TIMPANY.

INitnesses:

O. SGHROEDER, T. E. DJLLIS.

